The retail food packaging and distribution industry has seen immense growth in recent years. Grocery stores and restaurants are increasingly finding that consumers demand high-quality foods that are easy and quick to prepare, and these foods require specialized packaging to make the overall experience, from purchase to dining, convenient to the customer. In addition to being easy to use, the ideal food carton is also easy to manufacture and fill, and compact in relation to the container's contents.
Many existing food cartons require special construction techniques or special opening techniques that make the cartons difficult to construct and fill for the food packager or retailer, and difficult to open and user for the consumer. Further, many cartons now in use come in odd shapes and sizes, often because the requirement of a removable lid on a carton puts constraints on reasonable carton shapes. Specialized cartons are frequently difficult and costly to construct and use in a mass-marketing environment. An ideal carton should be economical and ecological to manufacture, and versatile in its uses, being useful for food display and storage and for cooking. Further, a carton should maintain a high degree of structural integrity throughout all its uses.
The present invention is directed to a container that is easy to construct and fill, and also easy to use for the consumer to open and use, while maintaining carton strength throughout all its uses.